President Donald Trump said Monday that European leaders gathering in Washington alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “want to see peace” as discussions continued following Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week.
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House as a group of European leaders arrived for a series of talks on the war in Ukraine. The meeting comes days after Trump’s three-hour summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, which Trump described as “great progress.”
During a bilateral session in the Oval Office, Breitbart News reporter Nick Gilbertson asked President Trump about his conversations with European leaders and what they need to do to support an end to the war. Trump replied, “We’re going to be meeting with a great representative group and seven very powerful, very big countries and great people, all friends of mine and friends of yours, and we’re going to have some suggestions made. They want to see peace. They would like to see peace.”
Trump remarked earlier in the day that if Monday’s talks proceed positively, a trilateral meeting with Zelensky and Putin could follow: “I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.” Trump added that he planned to call Putin to arrange such a session.
Zelensky signaled his willingness to participate, stating that Ukraine is prepared for a trilateral dialogue “to finish this war.” The prospect of such a meeting is seen as a pivotal step toward direct negotiations among the three leaders.
European officials including U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Chairman Mark Rutte joined the Washington talks.
The discussions follows months of tension over differing approaches to peace. European Union leaders have stressed that international borders should not be changed by force, while Trump has pressed for a direct peace agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire.
Monday’s meetings marked Zelensky’s first return to the White House since a contentious visit in which Trump warned that expanding Ukraine’s war effort risked “gambling with World War 3.”
Trump reiterated Monday that his goal is to pursue peace talks despite obstacles. “People are being killed and we want to end it,” he stated.
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